Left: The Pike Place public market in Seattle is delightfully retro. Top right: A king room at the Hotel Vintage in Seattle features artwork fashioned from wine-bottle corks. Bottom right: A Ford Taurus becomes art in the lobby of the Seattle Art Museum.

A King room at the Hotel Vintage in Seattle features a headboard fashioned from wine-bottle corks.

A Dale Chihuly glass sculpture is dwarfed by Seattle's Space Needle.

Wine corks form a headboard at the Hotel Vintage.

'Wine stain' carpet in the halls at the Hotel Vintage in Seattle.

An extensive exhibit of masks from around the world is featured at the Seattle Art Museum.

If you take a close look at Seattle’s past and present, you can see the future — and it can be done in a weekend.

Here, in chronological order, are signposts on a recent two-day visit to the Emerald City:

Hotel Vintage

A button-hook off the I-5 right downtown, old meets new in this 1920s heritage boutique inn run by Kimpton. Small-scale and welcoming, the place is in the final stages of a wine-themed renovation that makes the most of its relatively cosy public space and refreshed rooms.

Seattle might have been considered a beer town in the old days, what with the four-metre Rainier beer sign lording over town from the south I-5 brewery site until 2000 (a replica now takes its place.) The Vintage, however, wants you to know Seattle is now all about Washington wine — from the free evening tastings in the lobby (with its own wall of wine in progress), to the crushed-grape hues throughout the hotel, to the bottle-stopper montage above your bed, and even to the new hallway carpet. It attractively apes the effect of spilling a fine red all over the floor.

The hotel is simply reflecting a surging Seattle interest in the grape — the Taste Washington festival recently had hundreds of Washington wineries pouring some 1,000 vintages just down the street at the CenturyLink Field Center.

Pioneer Square

Down the hill and down-market, the historic zone with sometimes-rough edges continues to evolve away from the hippie shops and into high-end art and furnishings emporiums. Posters point out the area’s venerable Underground Tours now face competition from lust- and ghost-themed walkabouts, but they’re based up at …

Pike Place Market

It’s still delightfully retro, fish are still tossed, produce still gleams and the hordes still line up to sample the original Starbucks location (down the hall, Emmet Watson’s Oyster Bar retains its ultra-original Seattle vibe.) On the edges of the historic district, however, sprout high-end hotels and restaurants amid the strip and dive bars. A block down the hill lies a classier destination; the …

Seattle Art Museum

Art (local/global) and time placed in a blender, with delicious results. From flying and “exploding” Ford Tauruses in the lobby, to some of local glass-art god Dale Chihuly’s early work, to masks from ancient cultures around the world, to speaker-box sculpture, to works from Matisse and Monet, the SAM is confidently and coherently today’s Seattle of the world. Perfect spot for dodging the unchanging rain.

Stepping outside, it’s impossible to miss the shiny new waterfront Seattle Great Wheel — erected to entice visitors down the hill to Pier 57 for a sky view that attempts to rival …

The Space Needle

Tripping back to the future calls for a ride on the Needle’s companion piece — the Seattle Monorail. Both were built for the 1962 World’s Fair, and both are fully fun-functional. The view out the monorail window from downtown to Seattle Center, however, has changed substantially over the years. Instead of parking lots and warehouses filled with grungy bands chasing their destinies, shiny new condo building sites greet the eye. These will house the hordes of techies who power Google and other such modern powers.

After the monorail passes through the “hole” in the Experience Music Project (opened in 2000), visitors immediately encounter a newcomer to the 74-acre Seattle Center complex. At the base and in the shadow of the iconic Needle, the colourful Chihuly Garden and Glass has blossomed to the No. 1 spot on TripAdvisor since taking root in 2012. The indoor/outdoor exhibit of the Tacoma visionary’s work pays homage to the inspiration provided by its towering neighbour and the whole World’s Fair experience.

The monorail trip back to the Vintage gives visitors a chance to reflect on all the changes Seattle’s gone through since Elvis strolled the Seattle Center grounds — Boeing to Microsoft to Starbucks, Jimi Hendrix to Quincy Jones to Kurt Cobain; beer budget to fine wines and foodie fare; freeway mania and car culture to an emphasis on walkability. (Bertha the boring machine is chewing away — despite setbacks — at replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct with a tunnel at the waterfront, while there’s talk of burying the I-5).

For the time being, at least, weekend visitors can taste both the grit of old Seattle and its new, arty, less moody personality.

The writer was a guest of the hotel. The Hotel Vintage did not review or approve this article.

If you go

A couple can weekend at the Hotel Vintage Park in April starting at about $150 US/night (wine reception included). hotelvintage-seattle.com

The Seattle Art Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is $19.50 for adults. seattleartmuseum.org

The Seattle Monorail operates between downtown and Seattle Center seven days a week, and costs $2.50 one way for adults. seattlemonorail.com

You can get a combined pass to visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle for $33 per adult, less for seniors and children. It’s open seven days a week. chihulygardenandglass.com

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.